Manufactured housing (MH) units (built under the HUD Code in the controlled environment of a manufacturing plant and transported in one or more sections on a permanent chassis) provide an important source of affordable housing. After adjusting for land costs, the per square foot cost of HUD-Code housing is less than half of standard, site-built housing. With the increased use of multi-section units and recent innovations in MH building technology, particularly integrated floor and chassis systems, many MH units are now virtually indistinguishable from conventional site-built units. This report examines the scope and severity of state and local regulatory barriers to MH placement within CDBG-eligible communities. Ill. A print on demand report.

In 2006, New York City (NYC) established a multi-disciplinary Child Fatality Review Team to examine unnatural deaths in children ages one through 12 and to identify strategies for prevention. Past reports have described the predominant causes of fatal child injury in NYC including traffic crashes, fire and burns, and unintentional injuries in the home.

This 4th report analyzes individual and neighborhood disparities in fatal childhood injuries. These findings show that fatal injuries occur disproportionately among younger children, boys, black non-Hispanic children, and children in the City’s most impoverished neighborhoods.

This report identifies social, environmental, and regulatory measures that could make NYC an even safer place for children. Illustrations.

When Mary Schapiro became Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January 2009, the agency and financial markets were still reeling from the events of the fall of 2008.

Since that time, the SEC has worked to review its policies, improve its operations and address the legal and regulatory gaps that came to light during the crisis. The Lehman failure sheds light on many interconnected and mutually reinforcing causes that contributed to the failure of many major financial institutions, both bank and non-bank.

This testimony describes the SEC structure for the supervision of investment banks and their holding companies, the failure of Lehman, the lessons learned from the Consolidated Supervised Entity program, and the legislative and regulatory initiatives that are necessary.

On April 20, 2010, an explosion and fire occurred on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. This resulted in 11 worker fatalities, a massive oil release, and a national response effort in the Gulf of Mexico region by the federal and state governments as well as British Petroleum (BP).

The bipartisan commission named by President Obama in May to study the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the future of American offshore drilling will hold its first formal meeting in mid-July at the earliest, most likely delaying the delivery of its final report into next year, reports the New York Times.

According to this report, the sudden evaporation of meaningful prices for many major exchange-listed stocks in the middle of a trading day is unacceptable.

This testimony summarizes the events on May 6th using the best information that is available. Provides an overview of the current market structure for the U.S.-listed securities, including the national market system and Reg. NMS (National Market System), the highly automated nature of trading in today’s markets, and the market-wide circuit breakers and other individual market “time out” mechanisms designed to address difficult trading conditions.

Finally, Schapiro discusses various regulatory tools that need to be considered in determining how best to maintain fair and orderly financial markets and to prevent severe market disruptions in the future.

In 2008, coal-fired power plants accounted for almost half of the U.S.’ electric power, resulting in as much as 136 millions tons of coal combustion waste (CCW). CCW generally contains a range of heavy metals such as arsenic, beryllium, chromium, lead, and mercury.

While there is the potential for a sudden catastrophic release of waste, the primary concern regarding the management of CCW usually relates to the potential for hazardous constituents to leach into surface or groundwater, and hence contaminate drinking water, surface water, or living organisms.

Contents of this report: (I) Overview of Disposal and Use Issues; (II) The Nature of Coal Combustion Waste; (III) Potential Risks Associated with CCW Management; (IV) Regulatory History and Current Rulemaking: Waste Management Requirements Potentially Related to CCW; CCW’s Regulatory Exemption Under “the Bevill Amendment”; EPA Actions from the Bevill Amendment to Kingston.